1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to network cabling systems and methods and, more particularly, to the diagnosing of a cabling infrastructure.
2. Introduction
The proliferation of computer networks has lead to the increased deployment of network cables. Initially, Category 3 cabling having “telephone grade” wire was deployed to support 10BASE-T Ethernet. This inexpensive twisted pair cabling supported runs up to a distance of 100 meters.
As network speeds increased, however, Category 3 cabling was determined to be incapable of supporting higher transmission rates. Category 5 cabling was then deployed to support technologies such as 100BASE-T Fast Ethernet. Today, Category 6 cabling has emerged as the next evolutionary step in network cabling for the support of Gigabit Ethernet and higher speeds.
Throughout this evolutionary process in transmission rates, network-cabling infrastructures have also been forced to evolve. This evolutionary process in the network-cabling infrastructure has often resulted in newer network cabling being added to the existing infrastructure. The resulting cabling infrastructure therefore resembles a patchwork of differing cable types. Only new installations are likely to have a cabling infrastructure of a single type of cable.
The typical result of an evolutionary process in cabling deployment is a network-cabling infrastructure that includes multiple generations of network cable types. For example, an office site may have a mix of Category 3, Category 5, and Category 6 network cables deployed throughout the office site. This results due to the expense of removing older network cables and the continuing utility of such older network cables for a subset of applications. In the end, the mix of network cables presents a significant challenge in ensuring that the right cable type is used for a given application. Typically, the determination of a cable type requires cable testing that is performed manually. This process is both time consuming and expensive. What is needed is a mechanism that enables an automated detection of the network cable type.